Quick answer
The Government Accountability Office reported on September 24 that FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, known as BRIC, has repeatedly taken months to move projects from application review to final award. GAO found that as of March 2025, about 700 subapplications associated with roughly $2.2 billion were still awaiting an award decision. It also found that FEMA made no new BRIC subgrant awards or fund obligations from April 2025 through March 2026, a period that included the agency’s announcement that it was ending the program and its later decision to restart it. [1] Portsmouth’s Lake Meade Dam is a useful local case study because public records show several different federal funding milestones that can sound similar but are not interchangeable. FEMA announced in 2023 that Virginia was in line for a $24.21 million BRIC grant for Lake Meade adaptations, pending further FEMA review. Virginia emergency-management officials later said the Portsmouth application never received an official award letter and no BRIC funds had been obligated before the program was canceled in 2025. In July 2026, FEMA announced $5.2 million in BRIC funding for Lake Meade dam adaptations. [2][3][4] The available public records do not establish that the July 2026 amount is the final value of the earlier $24.21 million proposal, a partial obligation of that proposal, or a separately scoped portion of the work. That distinction matters when reading federal grant announcements.
What GAO found about BRIC
FEMA created BRIC in 2020 to support projects intended to reduce future losses from hazards such as floods. GAO reviewed the first four BRIC grant cycles, covering fiscal years 2020 through 2023. [1]
As of March 2025, FEMA had awarded 1,245 BRIC subgrants and allocated about $2.5 billion of the $4.8 billion available for those cycles. GAO reported that FEMA had reimbursed $62 million and that 37 subgrants had completed work and entered the closeout process. Separately, roughly 700 subapplications associated with about $2.2 billion had not yet received an award decision because FEMA had not completed the second stage of review. [1]
GAO calculated a median of seven to nine months for FEMA to complete review and award BRIC subgrants. State and local officials interviewed by GAO said long review periods can extend project schedules and increase costs. GAO also reported that some subrecipients stopped work during the 2025 funding uncertainty. [1]
GAO made seven recommendations, including that FEMA identify inefficiencies in its review process, improve communication with applicants and recipients, and establish stronger performance measures. The Department of Homeland Security concurred with the recommendations and identified actions it planned to take. [1]
The Lake Meade timeline
The Lake Meade Dam project illustrates the difference between being identified for federal funding and having federal funds legally committed.
In August 2023, FEMA announced that it would award Virginia $24.21 million in BRIC funding for Lake Meade Dam adaptations, pending further FEMA review. A February 2025 GAO report described the broader project as an estimated $31.78 million effort, with an estimated $24 million federal share and about $7.9 million in non-federal cost share. Virginia planned at the time to use approximately $5 million from a separate federal revolving-loan program to help Portsmouth cover part of that non-federal share. [3]
After FEMA announced in April 2025 that it was ending BRIC, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management said the Portsmouth project remained in the application and review phase. VDEM said it never received an official award letter for the project and that the funding had never been obligated. VDEM also noted that, under BRIC rules, work performed before an award would not be eligible for reimbursement. [2]
FEMA restarted BRIC in March 2026. Virginia reopened a BRIC application period, with state applications accepted from March 25 through May 25, 2026. [1][5]
On July 9, FEMA announced $5.8 million in BRIC funding across the Mid-Atlantic, including $5.2 million to Portsmouth to reduce flood risk through Lake Meade dam adaptations. The announcement did not explain in detail how the $5.2 million relates to the earlier $24.21 million amount. [4]
What the numbers do and do not show
Documented fact: The 2023 figure was described as a prospective $24.21 million BRIC grant pending further FEMA review. Virginia later said that money had not been obligated before BRIC was canceled. The July 2026 FEMA announcement identified $5.2 million for Lake Meade dam adaptations. [2][3][4]
Analysis: It would be premature to describe the difference between $24.21 million and $5.2 million as a confirmed $19 million cut. The public records reviewed for this article do not show whether FEMA reduced the project scope, divided the award into phases, obligated only part of a larger project, or restructured the project after BRIC restarted. A definitive comparison would require an award document or obligation record that ties the July 2026 funding to the earlier application scope.
That is also why a press release saying a project was 'selected,' 'approved' or 'awarded' can require additional context. In federal grants, an agency announcement may precede an executed award, an obligation in the federal accounting system, reimbursement of eligible expenses, or completion of the project. Those milestones can occur months or years apart.
Grant, obligation, reimbursement and loan are different
A grant selection or funding announcement identifies a project the agency intends to support, often subject to additional review or award conditions.
An obligation is the federal government’s legal commitment of funds for a specific purpose. VDEM’s statement that the earlier Portsmouth BRIC funds were never obligated is therefore more precise than saying the city had already received the $24.21 million. [2]
A reimbursement is an actual federal payment against eligible costs. GAO’s national figures show why this distinction matters: as of March 2025, FEMA had allocated billions of dollars to BRIC subgrants but had reimbursed a much smaller amount because projects move through planning, environmental review, procurement and construction at different speeds. [1]
A loan is different again. In September 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invited Portsmouth to apply for up to $101 million in potential financing through the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program for repairs to five city-owned dams, including Lake Meade. That program provides repayable loans or loan guarantees, not grants. The invitation was also not a final loan award. [6]
Why Lake Meade matters to the region
The Army Corps described the five-dam work as intended to improve the resilience of Portsmouth’s raw-water supply and drinking-water production and reduce downstream risk to residences, businesses and institutions. The five structures named by the Corps are Lake Meade Dam, Lake Cohoon Dam, Speights Run Dam, Lake Kilby Dam and the Lake Kilby Water Treatment Plant Sludge Lagoon Dam, all located in Suffolk. [6]
That makes Lake Meade more than a single construction project. It sits at the intersection of dam safety, drinking-water infrastructure, flood risk and long-term capital financing for a Hampton Roads locality.
What to watch next
The clearest next document would be a FEMA award or obligation record identifying the scope, federal share and non-federal share attached to the July 2026 Lake Meade funding.
Portsmouth procurement records, council actions and construction notices can also show when the project moves from financing into design and physical work. Separately, any Corps financing for the five-dam package should be tracked as debt financing rather than combined with BRIC grant totals.
At the national level, GAO’s seven open recommendations provide a measurable way to evaluate whether FEMA shortens review times, improves communication and reports program performance more consistently in future BRIC cycles. [1]
Sources
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, “FEMA: Billions in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Subgrants Remain Unawarded,” GAO-26-107774, Sept. 24, 2026 — U.S. Government Accountability Office. U.S. Government Accountability Office, “FEMA: Billions in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Subgrants Remain Unawarded,” GAO-26-107774, Sept. 24, 2026
- Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “Federal Grant Status” (BRIC status FAQ) — Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “Federal Grant Status” (BRIC status FAQ)
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Disaster Resilience: FEMA Should Improve Guidance and Assessment of Its Revolving Loan Fund Program,” GAO-25-107331, Feb. 24, 2025, Figure 5 and accompanying note — U.S. Government Accountability Office. U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Disaster Resilience: FEMA Should Improve Guidance and Assessment of Its Revolving Loan Fund Program,” GAO-25-107331, Feb. 24, 2025, Figure 5 and accompanying note
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, “FEMA Approves Nearly $25 Million to Support Community Resilience and Recovery in the Mid-Atlantic,” July 9, 2026 (agency release mirrored by Public Technologies) — Federal Emergency Management Agency. Federal Emergency Management Agency, “FEMA Approves Nearly $25 Million to Support Community Resilience and Recovery in the Mid-Atlantic,” July 9, 2026 (agency release mirrored by Public Technologies)
- Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “FY24-25 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC).” — Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “FY24-25 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC).”
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, “Army Civil Works announces invitations to apply for dam safety loans; $101 million in potential federal financing for the city of Portsmouth, Virginia,” Sept. 13, 2024 — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, “Army Civil Works announces invitations to apply for dam safety loans; $101 million in potential federal financing for the city of Portsmouth, Virginia,” Sept. 13, 2024